HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS An evenhanded study of pharmacological interactions between Western drugs and herbal supplementsToday, a significant percentage of Americans turn to complementary and alternative medicine practices. Despite their popularity and wide use, these products do not undergo the same pre-market testing for safety and efficacy that is required of pharmaceuticals. In Herbal Supplements: Efficacy, Toxicity, Interactions with Western Drugs, and Effects on Clinical Laboratory Tests, editors Amitava Dasgupta and Catherine Hammett-Stabler present a comprehensive introduction to both safe and unsafe herbal supplements. The book emphasizes the pharmacological interactions identified between Western drugs and herbal supplements, and the effects of herbal supplements on clinical laboratory tests.Herbal Supplements provides a guide to the interpretation of abnormal test results in otherwise healthy subjects due to use of herbal remedies. Focusing on interactions between herbals and pharmaceuticals, sources of contamination in herbal supplements, and analytical techniques used in the investigation of herbal remedies, the book details: Pharmacological interactions between Western drugs and herbal supplements Effects of herbal supplements on clinical laboratory tests Key interactions between herbal supplements and various pharmaceutical drugs Medicinal plants and toxic effects Contamination of herbal supplements from metals, pharmaceuticals, and plant poisoning Analytical techniques, including immunoassays, used in the investigation of herbal remedies Unbiased and literature-based, this text offers toxicologists, clinical chemists, analysts, and pharmacologists a no-nonsense take on the efficacy, toxicity, and drug interactions of herbal supplements and medicines.

HERBAL SUPPLEMENTSAn evenhanded study of pharmacological interactions between Western drugs and herbal supplementsToday, a significant percentage of Americans turn to complementary and alternative medicine practices. Despite their popularity and wide use, these products do not undergo the same pre-market testing for safety and efficacy that is required of pharmaceuticals. In Herbal Supplements: Efficacy, Toxicity, Interactions with Western Drugs, and Effects on Clinical Laboratory Tests, editors Amitava Dasgupta and Catherine Hammett-Stabler present a comprehensive introduction to both safe and unsafe herbal supplements. The book emphasizes the pharmacological interactions identified between Western drugs and herbal supplements, and the effects of herbal supplements on clinical laboratory tests.Herbal Supplements provides a guide to the interpretation of abnormal test results in otherwise healthy subjects due to use of herbal remedies. Focusing on interactions between herbals and pharmaceuticals, sources of contamination in herbal supplements, and analytical techniques used in the investigation of herbal remedies, the book details:* Pharmacological interactions between Western drugs and herbal supplements* Effects of herbal supplements on clinical laboratory tests* Key interactions between herbal supplements and various pharmaceutical drugs* Medicinal plants and toxic effects* Contamination of herbal supplements from metals, pharmaceuticals, and plant poisoning* Analytical techniques, including immunoassays, used in the investigation of herbal remediesUnbiased and literature-based, this text offers toxicologists, clinical chemists, analysts, and pharmacologists a no-nonsense take on the efficacy, toxicity, and drug interactions of herbal supplements and medicines.

Preface xiContributors xiiiPart I Introduction and Overview 11 Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine 3Catherine A. Hammett-Stabler2 Relatively Safe Herbal Remedies 19Angela M. Ferguson and Uttam Garg3 Risk of Toxicity Associated with Unregulated Herbal Products 45Steven W. CottenPart II Effects of Herbal Remedies On Specific Organ Systems 734 Herbal Medicines with Immunomodulatory Effects 75Jeffrey K. Actor5 Kelp and Thyroid Function 125Bruce Rosenzweig6 Herbal Remedies and the Patient with Chronic Kidney Disease 135Mariana S. Markell7 Abnormal Liver Function Tests Due to Hepatotoxic Herbs 155Amitava Dasgupta and Catherine A. Hammett-Stabler8 Homeopathic Medicine: Principle, Effi cacy, and Toxicity 169Amitava Dasgupta9 Indian Ayurvedic Medicines: An Introduction 193Amitava Dasgupta10 Tradition and Perspectives of Greco-Arab and Islamic Herbal Medicine 209Bashar Saad and Omar Said11 Licorice and Laboratory Tests 255Salvador F. SenaPart III Drug Interactions 27312 Drug Interactions with St. John's Wort 275Matthew D. Krasowski and John L. Blau13 Drug-Herb Interactions in Patients with HIV/AIDS 291Natella Y. Rakhmanina and John N. van den Anker14 Interactions between Fruit Juices and Drugs 305Amitava Dasgupta15 Drug Interactions with Ginkgo Biloba and Ginseng 321Ashok Tholpady and Semyon A. Risin16 Drug Interactions with Garlic and Ginger Supplements 333Charbel Abou-Diwan and James RitchiePart IV Contamination 35117 Heavy Metal Toxicity and Herbal Remedies 353Christine L. H. Snozek and Loralie J. Langman18 Adulteration of Herbal Remedies with Conventional Drugs: Role of the Clinical Laboratory 369Uttam Garg and Angela M. Ferguson19 Beyond Herbals: An Introduction to Poisonous Plants 387Catherine A. Hammett-StablerPart V Analytical Implications 40520 Interferences of Herbal Remedies with Immunoassays for Therapeutic Drugs: Focus on Digoxin 407Amitava Dasgupta21 Role of the Clinical Laboratory in Detecting Plant Poisoning 425Ronald W. McLawhonIndex 443